It was opening day of the 1952 Major League Baseball season – April 15 – an opening day to remember for a Boston Red Sox rookie from Utica, NY. A lifetime of memories in one afternoon for young Ted Lepcio.
In an era where the Washington Senators opened the season at home at Griffith Stadium and the President of the United States tossed out the ceremonial first pitch, Lepcio started at second base for Boston, got his first major league hit – “a line single up the middle” – warmed up with hall of fame teammate Ted Williams and retrieved the ceremonial pitch from President Harry Truman.
“That was quite a way to start my big league career as I got a hit and met President Truman,” said Lepcio, now 82.
“Pretty important stuff for a 20-year-old rookie.”
“While playing catch with Williams in pre-game warm-ups, I told myself ‘whatever you do, don’t hit him in the knee with the ball or throw it over his head,’” Lepcio said with a laugh.
Lepcio is in Chattanooga for a few days visiting his son, Baylor athletics director Thad Lepcio, and his grandson Teddy Lepcio who plays baseball for Baylor’s middle school team.
As the movie “42” is being filmed this week at Engel Stadium about the life of major league baseball player Jackie Robinson, Lepcio recalls playing against Robinson and also visiting Engel Stadium in the late 1950s.
“I played against Jackie Robinson and the Dodgers in a three-game exhibition series in Miami in the spring of ‘52,” Lepcio stated. “Robinson was in his sixth year with the Dodgers and we all knew what a great athlete and ball player he was.”
In the late 1950s, the Red Sox and Lepcio faced the Washington Senators and former Lookout Harmon Killebrew in an exhibition game at Engel as the two clubs were headed north at the conclusion of spring training in Florida.
During his 10-year major league career, Lepcio played with and against a number of hall of famers, including Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Jackie Robinson, Al Kaline, Whitey Ford and Satchel Paige, who once played for the Chattanooga Black Lookouts.
Spring Training, 1952: An All-American from Seton Hall, Lepcio was part of the Red Sox youth movement 60 years ago this spring as Boston invited 25 prospects to spring training in Feb. 1952 and kept eight on the big league roster, including Lepcio.
“Second baseman Bobby Doerr has retired during the winter and the Red Sox were looking for a starting second baseball and I was fortunate enough to have a good spring training, make the club and start on opening day.”
Lepcio, Jimmy Piersall and Faye Throneberry (brother of Marvelous Mary Throneberry) were among the eight who made the big club and started the season at Griffith Stadium on April 15. Rookies Gene Stephens and Dick Gernert made their major league debuts the next day.
Lepcio and Piersall each had a hit in the season opener, Throneberry picked up an RBI in the 3-0 Boston win as Lepcio helped turn a pair of double plays and stole a base.
Opening day saw three batting champions – Williams for Boston (six-time winner) and Pete Runnels (1960, ’62) and Mickey Vernon (1946) for the Senators and a former rookie of the year – Walt Dropo for Boston (1950) – in the lineup.
By the end the three-game series in the nation's capital, all eight Red Sox rookies had a taste of the major leagues.
In the 9-2 win in the series finale (April 17), six of the eight rookies were in the lineup as Throneberry hit a grand slam, Piersall, Lepcio and rookie catcher Sammy White combined for four hits and three RBIs and rookie Bill Henry had his first major league win and fellow rookie Ike DeLock picked up his first save.
Those eight rookies played together most of the next six years before Throneberry was traded to Washington and Henry to the Chicago Cubs in 1957, Piersall to Cleveland in the winter of 1958 and Lepcio to Detroit in early May 1959.
“We were in Chicago for a three-game series (May 1-2-3) and I was informed I had been traded to the (Detroit) Tigers,” Lepcio stated. “I went to Detroit and waited for my new team to return from a road trip and, ironically, my first game as a Tiger was against my old teammates, the Red Sox.
“I had a good series against Boston, including a grand slam in the first game.”
Traded to Tigers – Grand Slam in New Uniform: On May 2, 1959, Lepcio was traded to Detroit from Boston ... Three days later, he goes 2 for 4 with a grand slam to help beat his old teammates, 8-3 in Detroit … he goes 5 for 12 in the series ... in his last visit to Boston that season, he goes 2 for 4 with an RBI as Detroit won, 3-1 in Sept. 9
Lepcio moved to the National League with the Philadelphia Phillies in the winter of 1959 and then back to the American League in 1961 to conclude a 10-year major league career with the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins.
Seton Hall Hall of Fame: Lepcio was in the second induction class for the Seton Hall Sports Hall of Fame in 1974 and is one of several Seton Hall alums to play in the major leagues, including Mo Vaughn who also played for the Red Sox and Chuck Conners –
better known as Lucas McCain in the ABC television western series “The Rifleman” – who played with the Boston Celtics in the clubs first two seasons of existence (1947, 48) and parts of two seasons (1949, 1951) in major league baseball.
Most Recent Visit to Fenway: Lepcio was one of nearly 200 former Red Sox players who gathered at Fenway Park for the home opener in April as the Boston organization celebrated Fenway’s 100th season.
“It was a great time to be back at Fenway and see several of my old teammates,” said Lepcio.
Favorite Stadiums: “Of course, I loved playing in Fenway Park as well as old Tiger Stadium … “I hit four home runs in my career in spacious Griffith Park in Washington so that was a highlight.”
contact B.B. Branton at william.branton@comcast.net